Month: October 2016

So I’m still pretty new to this whole “Spotify” thing. I finally downloaded it onto my laptop just weeks before leaving for college, since I knew every student had it. People are always blasting their playlists whether it’s at a party, while working out, or in the dorms, (which by the way, no one else in the hall wants to hear).

My experience with Spotify has been pretty smooth overall so far. It has (almost) every song that I’m looking for and it’s easily accessible from my computer or laptop. The only thing I dislike are those damn ads. Yeah, I suppose I can purchase premium for next to nothing per month, but being a college student, I think I can manage.

I’ve always seen the “Discover Weekly” playlist on my sidebar, but never bothered to even look at it. I just figured it was a collection of random bands I’ve never heard of nor had any interest in, but surprise surprise… I was wrong.

This week’s playlist ranged from songs pulled out of movie soundtracks all the way to 60’s classic rock. I gotta say, I was very impressed with my “weekly mixtape of fresh music” and definitely plan on utilizing this feature in the weeks to come.

This is a song that everyone has heard somewhere at some point. It’s been played in movies such as Happy Gilmore and The Sandlot, games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and even in Viagra commercials. It’s a very laid back instrumental, and it’s hard to hate such a classic song like this. Also, who the heck came up with the title of this song?

Where have I heard this song before? It took me a while to figure it out, but through research, I was finally able to solve the question at hand. It turns out that this was the song that plays in the opening credits to the British horror comedy, Shaun of the Dead. Wow is that random. To be fair, it is a really catchy song. I did some research on the band, I Monster, and I’ve come to the conclusion that they are too weird for me, (and that’s saying something). Everything from their music, to their album artwork and even their website is obscure. I love it.

So I thought that the Gary Jules version of this song was the original, but I have been severely mistaken. I was unaware that this was originally a stereotypical 80’s song full of synthesizers and what not, but I got to say, I dig it. I’ll stick to the other version however, but I’m still glad this has been brought to my attention

I never really was a fan of Cream, and I’m not sure why. I just never bothered to explore their music which is probably my fault. Anyways, this is probably their most popular song, and for good reason. I can still remember playing the widely recognizable guitar riff on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which goes to show that even 50 years later, this song is still an important piece to the rock genre.

I actually saw Lenny Kravitz recently in concert when he opened up for Guns N’ Roses back in July, and it was there that I finally came to the conclusion that the guy does not age at all. Seriously, he’s 52 years old and could still pass for a 30 year old. What’s even scarier is finding out that I didn’t have this song anywhere on my playlist.

I’ve recently started listening to Gorillaz again after finding out that they were soon releasing a new album next year. Their album, Demon Days I feel is underappreciated nowadays. Songs such as “Feel Good Inc.”, “Dirty Harry”, and “Kids with Guns” are amazing, and still hold up today, even though you’ll never hear them on the radio. “DARE” is also one of those songs. It’s almost impossible to listen to this and NOT have the urge to get up and dance like Noodle does in the music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAOR6ib95kQ).

Oldies are great, especially a song like this. Its soft melody combined with Peggy Lee’s gentle voice really does make this a beautiful song. The first time I heard it was in the game Fallout New Vegas, as part of the game’s radio station. I’ve invested a shameful amount of hours into that game, and with the music constantly playing in the background, it didn’t take long before I could sing all of the lyrics to this classic.

When I think of the 90’s, one of the first things that come to mind is Nirvana. I’ve tried to listen to them many times, but for some reason I could just never get into it. Don’t get me wrong, “Smells like Teen Spirit” and “Heart-Shaped Box” are some of my favorite songs, but besides that, a lot of it just falls flat for me. Regardless, I still think that Kurt Cobain is one of the most important musicians and figures in the world.

Another song from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock! I’m starting to see a pattern here. This song has everything. A catchy guitar riff, bold vocals, and a phenomenal bass line. Aside from this song I don’t know anything else by The Strokes, but now I definitely plan on listening to more of their stuff. Thanks Spotify!

MCR is another band I never got into for various reasons, and I’m not really sure why. I remember when they were a huge deal back in middle school, around the time of Welcome to the

Black Parade. This song is a cover of the same song originally sung by Bob Dylan, and was included in the soundtrack for the movie Watchmen. It’s rare that I’ll find a cover better than the original, unless of course you are Gary Jules.

I used to hate Spotify. The constant backlash of it from my favorite artists and its limited selection of underground, DIY artists always turned me off from using the service, so the first time I ever did one of these was torturous, with Spotify recommending me one awful acoustic coffee shop track after another. I told myself I would never use it again.

Then my hard drive crashed from having too much music on it.

Now I am an avid Spotify user, using it to get into all sorts of bands and listening to every new record that comes out because I now finally have the access to it. Since I now use it daily, I was confident that my Discover Weekly playlist was going to give me plenty of great tunes, and boy was I right.

This track starts off strong, with calming synths that sounds straight out of a 90s computer game and a melody that sounds like a beachy LCD Soundsystem song. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but it’s very fun and theatrical, and I’d definitely recommend it to others.

I knew about Half Waif’s work in the past, but never gave it a good chance in the past, so I was excited to listen this song. I thought it was great, with its pleasant, spot-on vocal harmonies and its delicate yet in-your-face beat. Half Waif is someone I’m definitely checking out in the future.

Gents is a duo from Denmark, which makes a lot of sense from the very beginning of the track because the singer’s accent is really thick. It reminded me a lot of the newest Porches album with the track’s synthetic drumbeats and the very thick synths, with a slick bass line and a familiar vocal delivery following it. The chorus isn’t my favorite thing in the world, since the mixing at that part isn’t the best, but it’s still really fun.

I remember this track ending up on the last Discover the Lobster, with Cailynn calling it repetitive and dubstep-like, which wasn’t her thing. For me, this is exactly what I needed, as it was the best track on this entire playlist. I absolutely loved the insane atmosphere of the track, it brought me into another world and the sampling and production were genius. I’ve been a fan of Iglooghost’s work in the past, so really there’s no surprise that I loved it as much as I did.

I’ve given Raury a lot of chances in the past and each time he’s done nothing for me. I think he’s talented, but I’d just rather listen to someone else. “NEVERALONE” is a good example of this, as it sounded pretty good as a track but still felt really bland and easily forgettable.

The guitar that introduces this song sound a lot like the twang Mac DeMarco is known for. It suddenly meets the vocals, which are hard to hear but sound really good with the guitar and make for a really nice pair. It’s very calming and makes for a pleasant track.

I knew about Anna Wise because of her several fantastic contributions on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, so I was looking forward to hearing this track. It’s very catchy and poppy, but lacks a certain punch that I heard in her TPAB features. Nevertheless, she’s still someone I’ll check out in the future.

I really, really dug this track. This guy’s voice sounds like a cross between The Weeknd and Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, and, for some strange reason, I’m really into it. The instrumentals are super spacey and the lyrics about his life are really interesting.

This song starts off with loud, slamming guitars, feeling like a Nothing track. Then suddenly, everything quiets down and introduces the singer with a really pleasant melody, then goes back into insanity with plenty of screaming and loudness for everyone. It’s really beautiful. Listen to this when you’re really angry, it’ll take it all out for you.

You can only really describe this song in one word: “Banger.” It begins like your average rave-EDM track, with the typical epic synth intro and drum buildup, but surprises you with a drop reminiscent of a cross between TNGHT and anyone on PC Music.